A homeless man has been detained by police on suspicion of attacking Minnesota Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in the elevator of her apartment complex.
Following the horrible attack on Craig, 50, at approximately 7.15am on Thursday, Washington D.C. police said in a statement that Kendrick Hamlin had been charged with simple assault.
The congressman was waiting for the elevator with Hamlin, 26, in the foyer of her building in northeastern Washington, and he was apparently behaving strangely.
He then performed pushups in the elevator before striking Craig in the face and grabbing her neck, according to the police report.
In self-defense, the congresswoman threw hot coffee in the attacker’s face and dialed 911 while the attacker ran away.
She “suffered bruises, but is generally physically alright,” according to Nick Coe, Craig’s chief of staff.
According to him, there is no proof that the event was politically motivated.
Rep. Craig requests privacy at this time and thanks the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for their prompt response.
In the midterm elections of last year, the 50-year-old congresswoman was elected to a third term.
According to the police report of the event, the witness spotted the suspect behaving strangely, as if under the influence of narcotics, in the lobby of her building in the city’s Mount Vernon Triangle.
The police report said that “[Craig] informed that at some time she said “good morning” to [Hamlin] and then she boarded the elevator to go to her apartment.”
‘[Craig] goes on to say that [Hamlin] then got into the same elevator she was in and started doing push-ups at random.
‘[Craig] said that [Hamlin] hit her in the face near her chin with a clenched hand before grabbing her neck.
In self-defense, Craig threw her hot coffee at Hamlin.
Before police got on the scene, the attacker took off, but he has since been apprehended.
Tim Walz, a fellow Democrat and the governor of Minnesota, claimed to have talked with Craig and said she was doing well.
‘Angie is tough as nails – she immediately headed back to work and voted on the House floor,’ Governor Walz said in a tweet. It’s good to know she’s doing well after meeting with her this morning.
»Homeless man assaults Angie Craig«